Suspect arrested in rapes

A field interview by a patrol officer on Sept. 3 led Amarillo police to arrest a 28-year-old man Friday who they suspect in connection with a string of rapes dating back to September 1998.

Officer Ephraim Contreras of the Amarillo Police Department was patrolling around Nelson Street and 19th Avenue about 5:30 a.m. when the suspect, Lawrence Brackens Jr., ran across the street in front of him, said Cpl. Jerry Neufeld. Because of the early hour and the suspicious way he was acting, Contreras stopped Brackens and asked him for identification.

Brackens' nervous explanation of why he was out at that early hour seemed suspicious, so Contreras filled out a field interview card, which is a brief report detailing an encounter between an officer and a citizen deemed suspicious, Neufeld said.

Contreras' suspicions further were aroused by Brackens' appearance, which closely matched the description of a suspect in a series of rapes over the past year.

Contreras alerted detectives to the encounter and gave them the interview card, an act which Neufeld said was key to catching the suspect.

"The officer was very smart to pursue that encounter," Neufeld said. "You take the suspect's clothes, the time of day and the fact that he was very nervous, all those things point to something suspicious. That alone is not enough probable cause to pick somebody up, but it was sure enough to follow up on."

Detectives started an investigation of Brackens, checking his background, conducting covert surveillance on him and calling him into the police station for an interview, Neufeld said. After the interview, officers arranged a voice line up, and at least one of the victims from the series of rapes picked out Brackens' voice as the person who raped her, court records show.

With evidence in hand, police went before a judge on Friday to obtain an arrest warrant for Brackens. He was taken into custody without incident and booked into Potter County jail on one count of sexual assault in connection with the Aug. 30 rape of a 30-year-old woman, court records show.

The woman's description of her attacker closely matched that of a suspect that police had been looking for in connection with three earlier rapes, beginning in September 1998. In all three cases, a man forced his way inside an apartment during the early morning hours and raped the occupant at knifepoint.

Brackens has only been charged with the one count of sexual assault so far. Investigators have gathered physical evidence for analysis. If the tests connect Brackens to the other crimes, police will pursue further charges, Neufeld said.

Brackens could face 2-20 years in jail and a fine of up to $10,000 dollars on each sexual assault charge.